“But Mark…!” (Salvation part 2)

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Mark McMillion

But, Mark! Salvation couldn’t be that easy! Mark, there are millions of people who go to church and aren’t saved! The churches make it so easy for them and tell them they are saved so they just stop any desire for progress in their lives! They live their lives in sin and think it doesn’t matter because of what the churches teach, “once saved, always saved!”

Whew! What do you say to folks who say this? Are they totally wrong on all counts? You know they aren’t. But the solution isn’t to teach that we have to keep struggling throughout our lives to somehow, at the end, to have earned and won salvation. That just isn’t the teaching of the New Testament.

It does go against some element in our nature that salvation could just be a free gift. It just seems like a part of the natural world that we should have to do something to earn God’s grace. But a study of God’s Word in the New Testament shows that this is actually how it is. “It is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8 & 9). This is a recurrent theme of the writings of the Apostle Paul in the New Testament.

“But Mark! If it’s free, then they won’t appreciate it. There will be no incentive to do good! What about all the admonitions to live a righteous life? What about the Ten Commandments? So many Christians are just spiritually fat and lazy because of what you are teaching!“

Here’s a big factor in this. While salvation and eternal life are free gifts through the sacrifice of Jesus, our rewards and recompense in that eternal life to come are highly contingent on what we do with the salvation He’s given us. You talk about all those weak, lazy, often stunted Christians you may see in church? I have friends who have told me that they think only 3% of the people that we go to church with are saved. And I go to a pretty strongly Bible-believing church.

I personally think that percentage of saved folks at that church is a lot higher than that. But what are those folks doing with their lives? Are they “laying up treasures in heaven”? (Matthew 6:19) Or just accumulating things in this world? Are they really growing in the Lord? Are they really feeding His sheep? Are they withholding or scattering abroad? “He that withholds, it tends to poverty, but he that scatters abroad it increases.” (Proverbs 11:24) How much time do they spend watching worldly, sickening, foolish, Satanic TV every single day? How much time do they spend witnessing and winning souls, or sharing Bible classes with those who need it? How much are they really supporting missionaries abroad who are winning souls?

Let’s face it, millions of Christians are “living in sin” every day! They think that “living in sin” refers to something sexual. So they may have real pure sexual lives and still be “wasting their substance in riotous living” (luke 15:13) by following “the course of this world” (Ephesians 2:2) and not really a path of discipleship in the Lord.

These are all things that will be part of their reward, or lack thereof in the hereafter. I’ll tell you of a somewhat unknown but extremely significant verse, slightly controversial. In Daniel 12:2, it talks about the resurrection of the saints at the coming of the Lord. Here’s what it says, “…some raised to everlasting life, and some raised to shame, and everlasting contempt.”

I believe some folks are going to be saved and go to heaven. But like it says about “He shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” (Revelatoin 21:4), some are going to have a lot of tears to wipe away when they see all they could have done in this world, but didn’t do, all the love they could have shown, all the witnessing they could have done to share their faith with others. But they didn’t. All the time they spent in frivolous worldly affairs to the neglect of God and His will and His sheep. Some are going to be in heaven but not much more than that. Very little if any reward.

So I personally believe that God “who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the acknowledging of the truth” (I Timothy 2:4) is going to see and recognize faith in His son in many people. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13) . But sadly, for very many people, very many, they are like folks who never grow in their lives beyond the mental age of perhaps 5 years old. They never grow up spiritual beyond early childhood. They remain children and sometimes little children in their spiritual lives for their entire Christian life. Because they were saved but that’s about as far as they went. This of course is heartbreaking. Some seem to almost never know there is anything else. Their churches and pastors don’t challenge them to discipleship but are content to just let their members drift along in the lowlands of spirituality.

There’s just a vast work to be done to mentor, disciple, teach and admonish the immense numbers of people who say they are Christians, believe they are Christians but so often don’t really know for sure as they just don’t know the Word. Many just are content to stay where they are. Some of these would make progress if they were shown how.

Am I a “New Ager”?

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Mark McMillion

Today I saw on my web site that someone had done a Google search, something like “Is Mark McMillion a New Ager or is he a true Christian?”. That gave me a laugh but also got me thinking. Why would someone wonder about if I’m “New Age”? Well, here in America, if you’re a Christian, almost immediately it’s assumed that you must be what’s called here “Conservative”. But if you are a “Liberal” Christian, it’s really and totally a different breed of cat.

I guess I hang out with Conservative Christians more than I do with Liberal Christians. But am I “Conservative” or “Liberal”? Nah.

“Why not?!” Partly it’s the whole thing about baggage. So many people think, “If you’re a Conservative Christian, then that means you must…” and there’s quite a list of things you’re expected to believe and do after that.

Here’s my question: what are you trying to conserve? “Traditional American Values”? I’m not. If I’m trying to “conserve” anything, it would be to get all the way back to the foundation of bedrock Christianity that’s been around a long time, all the way back to Jesus and the first generation of Christians after Him. And you can’t really “conserve” that. You have to seek it through prayer, receiving the Lord and then going on to be filled with His Spirit and following His Word and His leadings for the rest of your life. It’s called Christian discipleship.

But I can understand how some people almost think that is “New Age”. Because if you’re really standing on nothing but the Rock, Christ Jesus, if you are in living fellowship with God through the mediation of Jesus and the quickening of the Spirit, then you maybe end up saying and doing some things that don’t correspond to what folks think of as Conservative Christians or traditional values.

Honestly, I guess I just have to say it again: there’s just so much baggage that’s almost required to have if you are a Christian here. Maybe it’s because I’ve lived abroad for so long, I just had to leave a lot of that aside in order to “lay aside every weight” and “run with patience the race that was set before me.” (Hebrews 12:2)

Jesus said “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”. (Matthew 4:19) Not necessarily better citizens of your temporal nation in this world. On the other hand of course, the Roman governments soon found out that those despised Christians they were persecuting were usually some of the best citizens they had, most law abiding, least trouble making of any under their rule.

But Jesus said to His followers, “Go into all the world and make known the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) They were to witness their faith. They were to even leave their nation and people in order to reach those who’d never heard the gospel truth. They were to take on a new identity, no longer Galileans or even Jews but they were to be Christians. Nowadays there seem to be Conservative Christians, Liberal Christians, Catholic Christians and on and on. But if someone was to aim to be stripped of all the encumbrances and the nationalistic political flavors and were just full-fledged discipleship Christians, perhaps they might be thought to be “New Age”.

I’ve met very few New Age people. The ones I did meet were into crystals and saying things like “It’s in the ethers”. Paul told Timothy that in the Last Days there would be people who “have a form of Godliness, but deny the power thereof.” (II Timothy 3:5) Many people long for some kind of spirituality. Maybe they think they find it in the New Age teachings. They should be able to find it in true, full strength Christianity. I sure did.

I’m not a New Ager. My house is built upon the Rock of the Word of God. My faith is in the Risen Savoir, Jesus of Nazareth. My hope is in the coming Kingdom of God on earth. While I find a lot in common with Conservative Christians, some things I don’t hold in common. Paul told us “our citizenship is in heaven.” (Philipians 3:20) So if being a Conservative Christian means I have to allow myself to be influenced and manipulated by worldly political parties and causes, then I feel that’s wrong. Jesus said “You can’t serve God and Mammon” (Matthew 6:24) or any of the gods of this world and its causes and temporal objectives.

It’s normal for all of us to want to hang labels on things. That way we can understand it better. I don’t know an easy label that would fit my beliefs. I guess I just want to stand with some of the most committed Christians of all ages: John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, John Wesley, William Carey, Adoniram Judson, David Livingston, William Booth. They weren’t New Agers. But they were misunderstood and many were persecuted in their times. Nevertheless they stood up strong and bright for the Lord in their generations. Would to God that there were more like that.

A Parable of Yogurts & Warm Milk

Posted on October 9, 2013 by Mark McMillion

Have you ever made yogurt? I used to do that 30 years ago in Vienna, Austria when my little family was together. It was easy. First you had a big pot of milk. But you had to heat it to just the right temperature. It couldn’t really be “lukewarm” (Revelation 3:16) but you didn’t want it scalding hot either. If I remember, it had to be hot enough that you could just barely keep your finger in it.

Then when the milk was the right temperature (maybe you had two gallons of it or 8 liters), you added just a spoonful of what was yogurt culture. Then we’d wrap it up on top of the heater and leave it all night as it stayed right at that “just right” temperature. In the morning I’d come back and it would all be changed. The tiny little bit of yogurt that I’d put in had “infected” the big container of milk and it had all become yogurt! Sometimes it was so good that you could put a spoon into it and the spoon would stand up because the yogurt was so thick and strong.

It was like the milk had gotten stronger. It wasn’t really “meat” but it was more than just “milk” (Hebrews 5:12). It had been “infected” for good by the little spoon of yogurt that had been put into the milk. It was now more valuable than just milk, it had been changed. Actually it had good bacteria to it, it was healthier and it contributed to your health more than when it was just milk. All that was needed was to get that milk just at the right temperature and then add that tiny “culture” of yogurt. The milk had gotten “culture”, refinement, improvement, fulfilling its previously unknown destiny.

Could it mean anything? It usually does; that’s what Romans 1:20 says. I really believe that so many “milky Christians” are ready for something to be introduced to them that can change them and make them better. This can be especially true if the have come to “the right temperature”, more than just “lukewarm” but not really scalding hot.

But what’s that yogurt culture? Well, I know quite a few former missionaries who are more than just milky Christians. So maybe they’re not strong meat Christians but they aren’t just milky either.

What could happen is, if these “yogurt Christians” (who are few, far between and some are feeling rather useless nowadays) could find a big bunch of milky Christians who are pretty warmed up and ready for change, if these little spoons of “yogurt Christians” could just get mixed in with a big bunch of pretty warmed up milky Christians, if they’d mix for a while and let things happen, pretty soon that process would happen, just like with yogurt. A little spoon of one or two of “yogurt Christians” could transform a big bunch of warmed up “milky Christians”!

Result? Progress all the way around. The yogurt Christians are no longer feeling alone, useless and “on the shelf”. The milky Christians go through a big transformation so they become more nutritional, valuable and “solid in the Lord”. It’s a win-win situation.

And actually I know more spoons of yogurt than I know large amounts of warm milky Christians. Are you a lonely spoon of yogurt? Why not try to find a way to reproduce yourself by searching out some medium hot milky Christians? Maybe if they’re already pretty warmed up and the setting is right, they’d love to turn into yogurt and be more than they were before.

OK, admittedly, back in Vienna 30 years ago, it wasn’t a foolproof thing that every night the yogurt converted the warm milk. The yogurt culture had to be pretty good. Most often the temperature of the milk had to be pretty constant throughout the night. That’s why we’d leave it on the heater overnight. It couldn’t cool off. But it couldn’t get too hot either. If either of those happened, the yogurt culture didn’t change the milk to yummy, thick, healthy yogurt. Instead, the milk changed the yogurt! We don’t want that. But most often it worked the right way.

Yogurts! Find some warm milk! Fulfill your destiny! Warm milks! Move further up the food chain! Solidify your convictions! Find out your inward potential and be stronger and healthier than you are right now! Accept change! Seek it out! You need each other! “Except a corn of wheat (or a spoon of yogurt) fall into the ground (the warm pot of milk) and die, it abides alone. But if it die (gets mixed into the warm milk), it brings forth much fruit. (Or in this case, more yogurt!)” (John 12:24).

“Sound Doctrine”? or Speculation

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Mark McMillion

For all my life, truth has been important to me. Then, when I went from being an atheist to a Christian, discovering the Bible was like a real love relationship. Before I became a Christian, for several months I believed in God but didn’t know who Jesus was. During that time I read the Bible, cover to cover, but I really didn’t understand it or get much out of it. Then when I received the Lord, I read the Bible again and it was like floods of truth were pouring into me, something I desperately needed.

The apostle Paul admonished Titus to “speak the things that become sound doctrine”. (Titus 2.1) But there’s really a lot today that is preached here in America or taught on some websites that is really not sound doctrine. It’s often nebulous speculation on Bible themes, frequently mixed with a worldly agenda to compel Christians to vote for one political party against the other.

Ten years ago here in Austin, Texas I went to a large, well known evangelical church on a Wednesday night. It was packed with nearly 3000 people. The guest speaker was going to teach on a subject dear to my heart: the prophecies of Daniel. But after his first 10 minutes or so of hurriedly speaking on the things I’d come to hear, he then launched into what evidently was the main burden of his heart: a long discourse on a controversial opinion of Bible prophecy that dovetailed perfectly with his political views. I became incensed. At length it became the closest I’ve ever gotten to disrupting a church service in order to be some kind of voice of truth.

This was a church I attended regularly, where the pastor had really been teaching the pure Word of God and many people were coming to hear the sound doctrine regularly coming from the pulpit. But on Wednesday night, the pulpit was being used for propagating speculation and controversy, mixed with a strong political agenda. But the thousands of people there figured it was just as much the truth as what the preacher was telling them on Sundays. But it wasn’t. It was speculation and worldly politics.

This was an older, mainline church with many wealthy members. I was a nobody; just a returning missionary, trying to find a home church. But I felt compelled to try to contact the pastor and I went to his office to express my views. He wasn’t there but his secretary took a note of my concerns. To my complete surprise, one evening I got a call from the pastor, the head of this church of around 7,000 people here. We talked for around 45 minutes. I told him about my background of becoming a Christian through the Jesus Movement of the early 70’s. And then I poured out my heart to him about how I respected his teaching very much but felt that he’d allowed his pulpit to be used for speculation and politics when the members of the church would think that anything said there had the same degree of truth that he taught.

He took it really well, basically agreed with me and also agreed that what had been taught on Wednesday night was not really sound doctrine. It was just one of many disputed views on the subject of Bible prophecy and how it will unfold in times to come. Honestly I was stunned that he would even take time to phone me about it. It gave me a respect for that man that he would“condescend to men of low estate” (Romans 12:16), like myself.

And now, being back in the States again after more years on the mission field, I again find the same thing. I find in some places really strong and feeding sermons being preached, which I get a lot out of. But in other places there are the same spurious, specious speculations being taught, especially about Bible prophecy. And often it’s just an opening to supposedly lay a Biblical foundation for extreme political views.

It’s not only heartbreaking, it’s motivating. It motivates me to try to make the material on this web site to be “sound doctrine”. A Bible teacher should consider it essential to differentiate between their own speculations and what can be accepted as sound doctrine. Otherwise you are creating confusion in those you teach. Quite possibly you’re engendering unbelief when your speculation on current events as being a direct fulfillment of Bible prophecy turns out differently from what you taught your flock. There’s even a verse about “handling the Word of God deceitfully.” (II Corinthians 4:2) Like by using it to promote your political agenda?

My goal on this site is to lay out from Scripture what can be taken as much as possible to be sound doctrine, not politically-mixed prophetic speculation.

Reason? Or the Miraculous

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Mark McMillion

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against reason. Isaiah 1:19 says, “Come, let us reason together” says the Lord. And it says that Paul “reasoned” with the Roman governor, Felix (Acts 24:25). But let’s face it, the devil has gotten in somewhere with the whole thing about “reason” in more modern times. Because it seems like 9 times out of 10, when people talk about reason, the implication is that we should forget about the miraculous. “We should depend on our own reasoning”, they say, “our minds and our intellect.” The idea is that there really isn’t anything other or better or higher than that.

That’s a serious mistake. It’s “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”. Or letting the pendulum swing too far in the other direction. It’s like what Jesus said, “These ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”(Matthew 23:23) In other words in this case, we ought to use our minds but not to where we reject the supernatural and miraculous intervention of God.

Our minds don’t have to be considered our enemies. (Of course the unbelievers would hoot and squawk immediately at that idea there, if we were to even think that our minds could be our enemy.) But in the same way that our bodies can be our enemies if we let our physical desires and impulses take us over, our minds can be our enemies if we let our “carnal mind” (Roman 8:6) take first place in our decisions.

It’s a big subject but really important. Many people have faith in God, but it’s like they say, “Let’s not take this thing too far!” “Let’s not think that God can do anything outside of the rational laws of science that we all believe in today.” This seems to be the often unspoken faith of multitudes. So they limit God by their minds. It ends up just being unbelief or a very limited form of faith.

But as God so succinctly spoke to Job around 4000 years ago, “Should it be according to your mind?” (Job 34:33) Things were going really bad for Job. He’d been so good, really, and he’d tried so hard, sincerely. But then it seemed all hell was breaking loose. It just didn’t make sense! It wasn’t fair! And he was right in many ways; it didn’t make sense and it wasn’t fair, according to the natural, normal way that most people in their natural reasoning would look at things. But in the end it all worked out, totally contrary to how Job saw things happening and he ended up being doubly blessed.

In Isaiah 55: 8 & 9 God says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are you ways My ways. For as the heaven is higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Our natural reasoning and understanding might make it through some situations but those things totally fail at other times.

Thomas Paine, author of “The Age of Reason”

But “reason” came to virtually replace God long ago. “The Age of Reason”, as they called it. It looked pretty good and there were a lot of good points there. But what was the end result? In turning to exalt and embrace Reason, the miraculous, the supernatural, the living presence of God not only took a back seat, it was kicked out of the car and left by the side of the road.

It certainly was not through Reason that I came to faith in God. It was the miraculous. But how many people of faith, regardless of their religion, really are looking for the miraculous intervention of the God of Abraham in their lives in these times? For so many, their faith is subservient to their reason. And perhaps this is because they are partially ashamed of their faith and don’t want others to think of them as strange or out of line with modern times.

This is what I wrote about in “Will He find faith on the earth?” Jesus virtually predicted that at the time of His return, the level of faith in the world would be at a very low ebb. It was the utterly miraculous that turned me from an atheist to a believer, even before I became a Christian. And that wasn’t just something that happened long ago. You can read “God’s Little Miracles” to find a miraculous thing the Lord did in my life just a few months ago.

So I’m thinking about writing some articles on some of the things I’ve experienced personally, not stories from centuries ago but things that have happened to me personally, that hopefully will inspire faith in others to know that God is not dead or even sick. I think I’ll call them Angel Stories. Here’s one about an incredible experience I had where angels saved me from death when I pretty much deserved death at that time. It’s called “Lights on the Road”.

Faith in the miraculous should come first, before our reason. We need both to be well balanced. But the presence of God should have first place in our sight, not our own reasoning. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.” Proverbs 3:5 & 6

A flock of Whooping Cranes

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Mark McMillion

I go to a mega church here in Austin. I enjoy the fellowship and the sermons. But one of the things I do each Sunday is to sit in the foyer, drink a tea, and just look at people coming there before the service. I often think that it’s like being in a large flock of Whooping Cranes.

Whooping Cranes are a bird species that very nearly became extinct, back in the 1940’s. The number of Whooping Cranes in the whole world got down to 23. Only 23. That group would spend winters on the Texas coast, not far from here. Now maybe there are 600 in the whole world, a little better

Why in the world would I relate going to a mega church to being in a flock of Whooping Cranes?! Here in Texas, Christianity is pretty much doing ok. At least there are a good many professing, born again, Bible-believing Christians. But if you travel around, you’ll know that the “flock is dwindling” worldwide. It’s even true in the US. If you’re an unashamed, professing Christian who believes in sharing your faith with others and you live in New England, you may feel you’re in a distinct minority. Maybe 40 or 80 years ago this wasn’t nearly as true as it is now.

But if you really want to see a loss of the species Christianos Fidelis Disciplos (I made that up), then go to Europe. And this is no pro-American, anti-European rant here. Far from it. I spent 27 years of my adult life in Europe, east and west, north and south. Europe has a huge and special place in my heart. But I know from firsthand experience, if you’re an unashamed Christian in Europe nowadays, especially Northern or Western Europe, you’d really better be ready to face ostracism and disdain from a lot of people. As far as I know, there just isn’t really very much left of a healthy Protestant Christianity in much of Europe. It’s by in large an extinct species.

Correct me if I’m wrong here since that’s a pretty broad statement. I’m sure there are individuals full of faith and power and perhaps even “pockets of resistance”, little groups of believers who still meet together and try to hold on. One thing that’s been successful has been native African preachers coming from Africa as missionaries to evangelize Europeans. Some of the few Protestant churches in Europe which are having success are led by missionaries from Africa. But it’s just rare to find any sizable flock of Christians in Europe who are really solid in their faith, especially those containing folks of the younger generations.

So I sit in my church with my tea here in Austin and just look at the members as they head off with their kids to Sunday school or file in for the service. I enjoy being around the atmosphere of faith. And I look at people and I often wonder, “Will these folks still keep the faith when it’s not cool to be a Christian? What if conditions change and Christianity becomes besmirched and out of vogue, as has happened in so many places over the last few generations?” It’s rather like what Jesus said to His disciples, “Will you also go away?” (John 6:67)

I can more or less speak Danish and I think I’ve been in every city or town in Denmark of any size. But one of the more moving and foreboding TV series I ever saw was many years ago called “The Fishers”. It was a chilling, eye opening saga of the virtually extinction of Danish Christianity around 100 years ago or more, as seen through a changing of generations among Danish fishing families. It showed the simple sincerity but also inflexiblity of the older generations and the legitimate aspirations of the younger generations just to be allowed to listen to the radio or for the younger women to be allowed to cut their long hair. In a generation Christianity had a drastic drop off in Denmark and it never really came back to any extent.

Denmark today is mostly a nation of contented people with a social system that’s the envy of many nations. But between 1900 and 1950 it had a steep falling away from Christianity or faith in God, becoming a model for humanism and “just being nice”. And they are; they are very nice people. But for the most part, they’re often strongly anti-faith and anti-spiritual. I have many Danish friends and I respect their society for how it is. But my species —faith-filled, Spirit-filled Christianity—is by in large extinct there. And this is true of many if not most other northern and western European countries.

Will that happen here in Texas? The Bible says that before the second coming of Jesus, there “will come a falling away first”. (II Thessalonians 2:3) For those who’ve traveled Europe or even many parts of the US, they know that’s already happened. For now, I enjoy my Sundays with my Whooping Crane friends. I hope they’ll survive and thrive. I’m trying to do my part to help. But like Jesus said, “When the son of man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

Was David a failure?

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Mark McMillion

Sometimes if you go to church, it’s like the verse that talks about, “choose the good and refuse the evil” (Isaiah 7:16), ha! I sure better explain that. The church I’ve gone to for the past months is pretty good and I’ve gotten a lot out of what I have heard there much of the time. And maybe I haven’t really heard anything that most folks would call “evil”.

Last Sunday was a good sermon and then the preacher started talking about King David. Immediately after mentioning King David the preacher started talking about David’s experience with Bathsheba and adultery. Well, that did happen. But it got me thinking about how many times I’ve heard King David mentioned and then in the next breath the conversion goes off on his relationship with Bathsheba.

In some ways that’s both sad, very imbalanced and a disservice to people who are trying to learn about the Lord. Essentially David is considered Israel’s greatest king. When Samuel told Saul the type of man who would replace him as the king of Israel, he said “the Lord has sought him a man after His own heart” (I Samuel 13:14). In other words, God called David a man after His own heart, a pretty strong commendation and very rare within the Bible.

David was not just some kind of warrior hero, a brutish macho tribal leader. Have you ever read the Psalms in the Bible? They are mostly written by David and they contain some of the most intimate personal prayers and contact with God that can be found anywhere in the Bible. David’s prayers, and the sometimes immediate answers he would get, have been often the most read material in the Bible. David’s pouring out his heart to God, his expressions of love for and devotion to God are unsurpassed and indescribable in their tenderness, sincerity and humility. And the people of his times knew this about David and recognized his special relationship with God and his love for Him.

When David was getting old, he still wanted to go out to battle with his troops, as he had always done. But it got to where they told him that he needed to stay back from the battle, “that he quench not the light of Israel.” (II Samuel 21:17) His troops and officers literally called him “the light of Israel”, in his lifetime. I don’t know of any other person in the history of ancient Israel that this was said of. So for us modern folk to first think of adultery when we think of king David is just really far off from the way God’s Word depicts him. It might almost say something more about us and our ways of looking at things than it does about David. Usually most people are quicker to find fault than they are to value virtue, don’t you think?

“David, the adultery”? How about David, “the sweet psalmist of Israel“? (II Samuel 23:1) How about the fact that Jesus was called “the Son of David”? (Matthew 21:9) Which He was. Both Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph, her husband traced their lineage directly back to King David.

I wonder what the results are of preachers who always immediately feel they have to dwell on David’s relationship with Bathsheba like that. Does it turn away people from reading the words of David? Does it make them think less of what are priceless words of admonishment and instruction in how to keep a clean heart and to worship the Lord? That would be devastating to influence the faithful to turn away from the words God gave King David and which are published in the Bible, simply because at one point in his life David made that major mistake and sin with Bathsheba.

To me, of all the characters in the Old Testament, King David is one of the ones I learn the most from. If there ever was a sinner saved by grace, it was David. If there ever was a man who loved God and who God used and loved and “made something out of nothing”, it was King David. Many if not most of us know we are a mess and are useless and hopeless without God. David is an example of God’s mercy, love, forgiveness and ability to “do above all that we can ask or think”. (Ephesians 3:20) It’s a real shame when preachers turn us away from the example of David and to think of him as a failure. I hope you have gotten to know the specific words of prayer and love that David gave us in the Psalms. They are almost certainly the best sample we will ever find of how to pray, how to worship and how to love and understand God.

Dumbing down

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Mark McMillion

It’s one thing to be simple, but another to be ignorant and lacking understanding. It’s often so shocking, heartbreaking and infuriating for me to see in my home country the level of ignorance concerning the things of the Lord or especially the history of faith.

If I asked 100 Americans who Martin Luther was, I honestly believe over 90% would ask if I meant Dr. Martin Luther King. Here’s another example. I have some friends here with master’s degrees or doctor’s degrees and often I’ll hear from them that “Allah” is a moon god, an idol that the Arabs worship.

My reaction is exasperation and real sadness. Maybe it’s like when God spoke through Hosea to the nation of Israel some 2800 years ago, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you.” (Hosea 4:6)

And I’m not just talking about “taking God out of the schools”. I’m talking about a huge falling away from a knowledge of the significance of spirituality in the civilization of mankind. I was in my third year of university when I personally experienced that the God of Abraham was for real. Among my many emotions at that time was anger at how little I’d learned about anything having to do with the great changers of history who were not politicians, businessmen or scientist but were purely spiritual people.

I myself had no idea who Martin Luther was, the German priest who set in motion the Reformation in the 1500’s and changed the course of European history. Joan of Arc? Never heard of her. But an illiterate girl who herded swine “heard voices” in the 1400’s. And by obeying the voice of God, she ultimately led the armies of France to defeat their invaders at that time, the English.

And there’s so many more. Saint Patrick? “Ha, ha, ha! Let’s all wear green and get drunk”, most would say. But that man virtually alone changed the course of the history of Ireland, starting a wave of faith and devotion in what was a land beyond the edge of civilization at that time. Patrick’s influence continued in his followers for several hundred years, inspiring other missionaries in the next two centuries to go out to places like the darkest … no, not Africa but places like modern Holland, Germany and the rest of Europe to take the light and love of Jesus Christ and to turn those peoples to the Lord during the times called the Dark Ages.

Did you know that? I didn’t until I was way up into my adult years. But it was those spiritual people, people of faith who changed their generations, brought civilization and spiritual enlightenment to their times and neighbors and that’s why we have what has been called “Western Civilization”.

So there’s just this huge irony. We have smart phones, the latest apps, Google glass and every kind of advancement and technical innovation that our hearts could desire. But all the while, the gloom of ignorance and the lack of basic knowledge of the spiritual world increases like the armies of Mordor across the world. Even a knowledge that there is a God is less and less a part of the mentality of hundreds of millions of people in the “advanced” and “civilized” nations of the world.

It’s a sad, ominous, foreboding situation to observe. Hosea also said, “They have sown the wind and they will reap the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8:7) How can there not come a reaping and reward for society’s abandonment of God and our eternal foundations, for ignorance of the reality of the spiritual world?

I experienced it myself. I was brought up in a home that didn’t acknowledge a prayer-answering God. “Maybe there’s a God but He is way off somewhere. Don’t bother Him and He won’t bother you”, seemed to be the idea. So in my greatest time of trial and difficulty, I simply and truly didn’t know there was a God, didn’t know or understand virtually anything about sin, faith, repentance, submission, redemption or grace. These were all utterly unknown to me. It’s an absolute miracle of God that He somehow pulled me through that time.

How many hundreds of millions now are in just as much spiritual darkness and delusion, no matter how advanced the technical gadgets they have? May God help us to do all we can to share His light, spread His truth and to keep our candles burning in this time of billowing darkness that we live in, even though most are blissfully ignorant of their ignorance.

A Strong Man, Armed

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Mark McMillion

After the article I posted “Citizenship in Heaven”, I received a comment on it from a friend. Here are parts of it:

What about taking up arms to protect your wife and children, elderly relatives and friends from roving gangs of hoodlums who’ll laugh in your face as they go through your neighborhoods in the coming rampage in the USA when there are no jobs or money and famine sets in? Do we shoot them? I simply couldn’t stand idly by and watch this happen to my family without fighting back the best way possible. At my age that would be with a shotgun or .45… This is not clear to me in the Bible. The subject is painted with “too broad a brush!” I just can’t see allowing that to happen. But I agree with you on the idea of not taking on the United States government. But there does seem to be a difference here. I just think this is a much more complicated issue than only having two sides to it. I believe we should defend our own. Now a government edict, that’s different. But roving gangs of bloodthirsty mobs…? Sorry… Just my opinion, – God bless you Mark, -John

And, yes, he’s right. In one place Jesus even said, “A strong man, armed, keeps his goods in peace.” (Luke 11:21) But He went on to say, “When a stronger than him comes, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and he spoils all his goods.” (Luke 11:22) And the favorite one of the gun lobby here in America is where Jesus, towards the end of His ministry, told his disciples “He that has no sword, let him buy one”. (Luke 22:36) Then when the high priest and his men came to take Jesus, it says Peter drew his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant.(John 18:10) Whereupon Jesus told Peter, “Put up your sword, for they that live by the sword shall die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52) And then Jesus replaced the ear of the high priest’s servant.

What does that have to do with us 2000 years later? First, I can tell the ones of you who are reading this outside the US that this is a very serious question for many here. The USA currently has one gun for every man, woman and child in the country. There’s a vast gun culture here and they’re used in crimes of all kinds every day.

This is an enormous subject. I suppose I agree with what John wrote that, as Jesus said, “The good shepherd gives his life for his sheep.” (John 10:11) If someone is in a situation where intruders or mobs come to your house to take your family and your lives, then I think there’s Scriptural evidence enough to say that you’re within your rights to defend your life and your family.

But here’s the problem with saying that. From this particular example of an exceptional situation can grow the justification for keeping huge arsenals of weapons in the homes of Christians with the excuse that it’s all there to defend their family. And the culture of guns, self defense, militias and all that grows until it becomes the totally predominate philosophy of that house, or neighborhood or culture.

In the history of Christianity, that’s not been the hallmark of great Christian individuals or nations. By leaning on the arm of the flesh and physical means, Christians are turned away from the true armor of God and the protection He would have us hold dearest. There are so many historic examples of families, individuals, societies and nations who cultivated their spiritual weapons and their relationship with the Lord and the Lord delivered them from marauders, mobs or invasions.

I’m sure many of you know these verses from the Bible but I’ll share just a few here. “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the tearing down of strongholds” (II Corinthians 10:3). Or perhaps the most famous, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) If a Christian family is truly strong in spirit, depending on the Lord and even getting their instructions directly from the Lord, then He can protect and even lead them out of danger before it happens, or “give them a mouth and wisdom that none of your adversaries can refute or resist”. (Luke 21:15)

By putting our first trust in weapons, rather than the power of the Spirit, we actually weaken ourselves in the spiritual and that’s actually where it’s all really happening. Admittedly, millions of American Christians may have already made that decision and turned to carnal weapons as their default choice in the battles that may come in times ahead. So this is a struggle between the flesh and the spirit, spiritual armor or carnal armor. I’m not saying not to defend your flocks if you’re in a situation like that. But if building up weapons stocks and boasting in your arsenal weakens you in the spirit, then you’re not really and truly prepared for the dark ages that may soon come. That’s how it seems to me. “According to your faith be it unto you.” (Matthew 9:29)

Citizenship in heaven

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Mark McMillion

Paul told some folks, “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). That may be a strange concept to some. And it may hit a raw nerve for others. Our citizenship, our nationality is for many people everywhere perhaps their most cherished identity. But then at the same time they will say they are Christians. Or Jewish. Or Muslim. And most, let’s say many, don’t see any clash at all between their professed faith in God and their nationality.

Patriotism is a very strong force in the USA, probably more than in many countries. I’ve met a number of new friends here over the last 6 months who are both extremely patriotic while at the same time being exceptionally serious about their Christian faith. They are very aware of current events here. Many feel the USA has already moved far towards a totalitarian state. They believe the original freedoms and rights that the country was founded upon are being eroded or are just plain gone. There’s talk of taking a stand, of fighting for liberty.

But this is where the discussion turns intense and focused. What exactly should one fight for? What are we? Is it a matter of just standing up for a cause? Which one? And for many of us, it comes back to our identity. What are we?

my kingdom is not flat Pilate asked Jesus if He was a king. And Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from hence.” (John 18:36) And this is where our conversations turn to when my friends and I discuss these things.

You don’t have to be a Christian in America to be extremely patriotic. Certainly there are millions of exceptionally patriotic Americans who are not Christians or for whom their faith is a distant second place to their allegiance to their country. But what about for a Christian, one whose life is centered around their faith in God and in Jesus?

I’ve written a few articles on this web site previously on this subject. I wrote “Proud to be an American” about my experiences while outside the USA for 36 years as a missionary and some times when I felt proud of my nationality. consumer citizen or disciple-flattened Another article was “Consumer, Citizen or Disciple” which traced the history of our identity and how people in America and elsewhere see themselves now.

Roman persecution But this dilemma, this conflict of interests has in history brought some believers in God to stark, immediate choices. If you read the history of Christianity, many early Roman Christians were brought to the place where they had to show allegiance to the Roman Empire or face death. Immediately. Countless numbers chose to take their stand with Jesus Christ and the God of Abraham, rather than to an earthly king and country. Of course we always can think, “That can’t happen here, not in my country! We’re too advanced for that, too intelligent, too sophisticated, too modern.”

For me personally, over 40 years ago I had to decide what would come first in my life and how I would see myself. I had to know that my allegiance to Jesus Christ and my citizenship in heaven had to be the most precious thing for me and what I felt was worth living and dying for. Since that time I have lived in over 40 countries as an ambassador of the kingdom of God and I have no regrets about that.

But for many here, this is a time of deep heart searching. Some even question if they should take up arms to defend what they see as their inalienable rights. But I don’t think I’m supposed to do that. That’s not the battle I’m supposed to fight. And I question if any sincere, consecrated Christian is supposed to take up earthly weapons to fight an earthly war for worldly goals. I don’t believe that’s the battle I’m called to and I feel many American Christians are going to be sadly shocked if they go that direction, to take up arms against their country.

Prophecy fulfilled flat Our calling is to stand up for the truth of Scriptures and perhaps especially to use the weapon of the truth within Bible prophecy to share with all we know the condition the world is in today and the soon possibly beginnings of the final events of the endtime. I feel it is there that the Lord will meet us, is even waiting there for us, to be His salvation army of true witnesses to what has been foretold in prophecy for over 2000 years, of the final events of the endtime before His coming.

That’s a battle worth fighting that we’re destined to win. Those with true faith in God will find their strength and calling and victory, not fighting earthly political battles to save their nation but fighting the good fight of faith for the truth and for lost souls everywhere. It is written, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12:11)

Mark McMillion

Creeds and Deeds, Facts and Acts

Category Archives: Christianity Today